You’ll need HOW MUCH to stop working?

RaboDirect reports that it conducted a survey to find out “how financially secure people would need to be to stop work”.

Before reading further, do a back-of-the-envelope calculation to determine how much you think you’d need to retire early. Done? Read on.

Allegedly, the survey found that “Gen Y say they would need $10.7 million to feel financially comfortable enough to stop working”, with Australians more generally saying “they felt a minimum windfall of $6.9 million would mean early retirement”.

These findings, to my mind, are questionable at best.)

Consider: $6.9m at a 5% return would yield $345,000 per annum. That’s more than most people earn and would need. $10.7m? That’s $535,000.

Nevertheless, it’s an interesting question. And given that most of us expect to quit working at some point of our lives (some of us aiming to do so sooner than later), it’s one worth asking.

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Sonnie Bailey

Sonnie is an Authorised Financial Adviser (AFA) and former lawyer with experience in the financial services and trustee industries. Sonnie operates Fairhaven Wealth (www.fairhavenwealth.co.nz).

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(c) 2018 Sonnie Bailey. Sonnie is an Authorised Financial Adviser - disclosure statements are available on request. All information on this site is general in nature and no substitute for personalised financial advice.